Giving birth to a baby can be an unpredictable event, more unpredictable in some women than others. Planning for the unpredictable and being ready to react is critical. Part of the planning is having someone around who has some training in delivering a baby and who can identify warning signs.
A recent study looked at 12 million births from 2010-2012 and found many-fold increases of stillbirths, infants with neurological dysfunction and neonatal death for women who had home births. The relative risk of an infant being born alive but dying in the first 28 days is four times higher in a baby born at home than a baby born in a hospital.
Paying attention to problems in a systematic way is science. The thinking and studying of an issue will make life less complicated by avoiding crisis and long term health issues. Twins, breech presentation, vaginal birth after cesarean and post-term deliveries will make up a significant portion of the 1-1.5 percent of births that have problems and will need care that presently can only be provided in a hospital.
Why people argue to provide unsafe care is concerning ("Women who want to give birth at home seek to change restrictive Md. law," Feb. 11). This isn't about the provider or the experience, it is about using the information we have to create a system that works for the most people without putting newborn children at unreasonable risk. This should be an easy area to do the right thing. There will be enough excitement for new parents, let's start life off as safe as we know how.
Dr. Tyler Cymet, Baltimore
The writer is president of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society.